“What was said against the state, the slogans chanted [against Pakistan] were never a part of MQM’s policy from day one,” Dr Farooq Sattar told a news conference at the Karachi Press Club (KPC) where he was not allowed to speak by the Rangers a day earlier. He was flanked by other senior party colleagues, including Nasreen Jalil, Khawaja Izharul Hassan and Amir Liaquat Hussain.

Dr Amir Liaquat quits MQM:

After the news conference, Dr Amir Liaquat Hussain, who is also a popular TV host, announced that he was quitting the MQM and politics for good. Speaking on a private television channel, he explained that he was fed up with politics. He denied that he had been pressured into making the decision.

He joins the likes of MQM Rabita Committee member Ghazi Salahuddin and MPAs Irum Azeem and Khalid Bin Wilayat who quit the party on Monday.